Electronic cigarette

ABSTRACT

An electronic cigarette includes a housing. The housing has an accommodating space therein. A cartridge assembly, a circuit board and a switch are provided in the accommodating space. The electronic cigarette is compact in structure and easy to carry. The electronic cigarette solves the problem that the mouthpiece is easily dirty and unhygienic. The electronic cigarette is provided with a liquid chamber which can be refilled with the liquid. The electronic cigarette is reusable and environmentally friendly. The design of the refilling structure is ingenious and reasonable and is easy for operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette, and moreparticularly to a refillable push-pull electronic cigarette.

2. Description of the Prior Art

An electronic cigarette or e-cigarette is a handheld electronic devicesimulates the feeling of tobacco smoking. E-cigarettes do not releasetar, nicotine and second-hand smoke that are harmful to the human body.Therefore, it can improve the success rate of nicotine replacementtherapy to help people stop smoking.

However, most of the electronic cigarettes in the prior art have acomplicated structure. The mouthpiece is exposed to the outside andoccupies a certain space. The mouthpiece tends to become dirty. As aresult, the mouthpiece is unhygienic. The electronic cigarette is largein size, and it is not easy to carry. Most electronic cigarettes cannotbe refilled with the liquid, only one-time use, which leads to a wasteand is not beneficial for environmental protection. Some electroniccigarettes may have the function of refilling the liquid, but thestructure is complicated and is not easy to operate, affecting the userexperience.

Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention has devoted himselfbased on his many years of practical experiences to solve theseproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the primary object of thepresent invention is to provide a refillable push-pull electroniccigarette which is compact in structure and easy to carry. The push-pullelectronic cigarette solves the problem that the mouthpiece is easilydirty and unhygienic. The electronic cigarette is provided with a liquidchamber which can be refilled with the liquid. The electronic cigaretteis reusable and environmentally friendly. The design of the refillingstructure is ingenious and reasonable and is easy for operation.

In order to achieve the aforesaid object, the electronic cigarette ofthe present invention comprises a housing. The housing has anaccommodating space therein. A cartridge assembly, a circuit board and aswitch are provided in the accommodating space. The housing is providedwith a charging interface. The cartridge assembly, the switch and thecharging interface are electrically connected to the circuit board.

The circuit board is mounted in the housing. The cartridge assembly isdetachably mounted above the circuit board. A rear cover of the housingis provided with a button assembly which can be moved up and down. Thecartridge assembly is linked by the button assembly to move up and down.

The button assembly includes a button and a first link portion. Thecartridge assembly includes a second link portion. The first linkportion is linked with the second link portion. The button is linkedwith the switch. When the button is pushed upward, an upper end of thecartridge assembly is exposed out of an upper cover of the housing, andthe switch is linked by the button to be turned on. When the button ispushed downward, the second link portion is linked by the first linkportion to move downward, the cartridge assembly is hidden in the uppercover, and the switch is linked by the button to be turned off. When thebutton is pushed inwardly by an external force, the second link portionis released from the first link portion, the cartridge assembly and thebutton assembly are separated from each other, and the cartridgeassembly can be detached from the housing.

The cartridge assembly includes a liquid chamber, a mouthpiece, and acap detachably mounted on the liquid chamber. The mouthpiece is exposedabove the liquid chamber. The liquid chamber is provided with a liquidfilling hole. The cap detachably blocks the liquid filling hole.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has obviousadvantages and beneficial effects. Specifically, it can be seen from theabove technical solution that the push-pull design of the cartridgeassembly is realized through the linkage structure of the button and thecartridge assembly, so that the cartridge assembly can be hidden inside,thereby solving the problem that the mouthpiece is easily dirty andunhygienic. The structure is clever and reasonable and more compact andsmooth for operation and easy to carry. The liquid chamber is providedwith the detachable cap to realize the refilling function of theelectronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette is reusable andenvironmentally friendly. The design of the refilling structure issimple, ingenious and reasonable, and is easy for operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is another exploded view in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a further exploded view in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 7 is another sectional view in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7. The electronic cigarette in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing. Thehousing includes an upper cover 10, a lower cover 20, a front cover 30,and a rear cover 40. The upper cover 10, the lower cover 20, the frontcover 30 and the rear cover 40 are connected to form an accommodatingspace therein. A cartridge assembly 50, a circuit board 60 and a switchare provided in the accommodating space. The rear cover 40 is providedwith a charging interface 90. Preferably, the charging interface 90 is aUSB interface. The cartridge assembly 50, the switch and the charginginterface 90 are all electrically connected to the circuit board 60. Thecircuit board 60 is mounted on the lower cover 20. The cartridgeassembly 50 is detachably mounted above the circuit board 60. The upperportion of the rear cover 40 and the upper cover 10 are adapted to coverthe cartridge assembly 50. The front cover 30 is provided with a buttonassembly 70 which can be moved up and down. The button assembly 70includes a button 71. The button assembly 70 is linked with thecartridge assembly 50. The upper cover 10 has a stroke guide groove 11for the button 71 to move up and down. The button 71 has a button mainbody 73 which is fitted in the stroke guide groove 11. The rear cover 40has an opening 41 for mounting the button assembly 70. The buttonassembly 70 is mounted in the opening 41.

The button assembly 70 includes a button 71 and a first link portion 72.The cartridge assembly 50 includes a second link portion 51. The firstlink portion 72 is linked with the second link portion 51. The button 71is linked with the switch. When the button 71 is pushed upward, (In thisembodiment, the upper cover 10 is provided with a limit portion. Theupper end of the button 71 is pushed to the limit portion, and thecartridge assembly 50 exposes about two thirds thereof outside the uppercover 10.) The first link portion 72 drives the second link portion 51to move upward. The upper end of the cartridge assembly 50 is exposedabove the upper cover 10. The switch is linked by the button 71 to beturned on. At this moment, the cartridge assembly 50 is exposed so as tofacilitate the smoking action. When the button 71 is pushed downward,the second link portion 51 is linked by the first link portion 72 tomove downward. The cartridge assembly 50 is hidden in the upper cover10. The switch is linked by the button 71 to be turned off. When thebutton 71 is pushed inwardly by an external force, the cartridgeassembly 50 and the button assembly 70 are separated from each other.The cartridge assembly 50 can be detached from the housing forsubsequent refilling operations. The cartridge assembly 50 furtherincludes a liquid chamber 52, a mouthpiece 53, and a cap 54 detachablymounted on the liquid chamber 52. The mouthpiece 53 is exposed above theliquid chamber 52. The liquid chamber 52 is provided with a liquidfilling hole 55. The cap 54 detachably blocks the liquid filling hole55. When the cartridge assembly 50 is removed, an external force may beapplied to the cap 54 to pull up the cap 54 to a certain distance, andthen the cap 54 is rotated until the cap 54 is detached from the liquidchamber 52. At this time, the liquid filling hole 55 is exposed for theliquid chamber 52 to be refilled with the liquid.

The push-pull design of the button 71 is linked with the cartridgeassembly 50 to achieve the hidden design of the cartridge assembly 50.The overall structure is ingenious and reasonable. The structure is morecompact and easy to carry. The cartridge assembly 50 is detachablyprovided with the liquid chamber 52 and the cap 54 to realize therefilling function of the electronic cigarette. Meanwhile, the tightnessbetween the cap 54 and the liquid chamber 52 is good to prevent theliquid from leaking. The disassembly and replacement are easy andconvenient.

A support assembly 80 is provided below the cartridge assembly 50. Thesupport assembly 80 movably abuts against the lower end of the cartridgeassembly 50. The bottom of the support assembly 80 abuts against thefront cover 30. The support assembly 80 is connected with the button 71of the button assembly 70. When the button 71 is pushed upward, thesupport assembly 80 is linked to move upward. When the button 71 ispushed downward, the support assembly 80 is linked to move downward.

The button 71 has a first positioning portion 711 extending outwardlyfrom a lower end thereof. Correspondingly, the support assembly 80 has asecond positioning portion 81. The first positioning portion 711 isfitted on the second positioning portion 81. The first positioningportion 711 has a positioning protrusion 712. Correspondingly, thesecond positioning portion 81 has a positioning recess 82. Thepositioning protrusion 712 is fitted under the positioning recess 82.

The first link portion 72 extends outwardly from one side of the button71. The outer sidewall of the liquid chamber 52 is recessed to form thesecond link portion 51. The first link portion 72 is fitted in thesecond link portion 51. The first link portion 72 is symmetricallyprovided with positioning buckles 721. Correspondingly, the second linkportion 51 is provided with positioning slots 511. The positioningbuckles 721 are fitted in the positioning slots 511.

In addition, in this embodiment, buffer springs 83 are symmetricallyprovided above the support assembly 80. Correspondingly, the bottom endof the liquid chamber 52 is symmetrically provided with positioningposts 56. The positioning posts 56 are fitted on the correspondingbuffer springs 83. The support assembly 80 is symmetrically providedwith positioning pillars 84, correspondingly, the bottom end of theliquid chamber 52 is symmetrically provided with positioning holes 57.The positioning pillars 84 are fitted in the corresponding positioningholes 57. A positioning hole 84 is symmetrically disposed on the supportassembly 80. Correspondingly, a positioning hole 57 is providedsymmetrically at a bottom end of the liquid chamber 52. The positioninghole 84 fits into the corresponding positioning hole 57.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail for purposes of illustration, various modificationsand enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not tobe limited except as by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic cigarette, comprising a housing,the housing having an accommodating space therein, a cartridge assembly,a circuit board and a switch being provided in the accommodating space;a rear cover of the housing being provided with a charging interface,the cartridge assembly, the switch and the charging interface beingelectrically connected to the circuit board; the circuit board beingmounted in the housing, the cartridge assembly being detachably mountedabove the circuit board; the housing being provided with a buttonassembly which can be moved up and down, the cartridge assembly beinglinked by the button assembly to move up and down; the button assemblyincluding a button and a first link portion, the cartridge assemblyincluding a second link portion, the first link portion being linkedwith the second link portion, the button being linked with the switch;wherein when the button is pushed upward, an upper end of the cartridgeassembly is exposed out of an upper cover of the housing, the switch islinked by the button to be turned on; when the button is pusheddownward, the second link portion is linked by the first link portion tomove downward, the cartridge assembly is hidden in the upper cover, theswitch is linked by the button to be turned off; when the button ispushed inwardly by an external force, the second link portion isreleased from the first link portion, the cartridge assembly and thebutton assembly are separated from each other, the cartridge assemblycan be detached from the housing; the cartridge assembly including aliquid chamber, a mouthpiece and a cap detachably mounted on the liquidchamber, the mouthpiece being exposed above the liquid chamber, theliquid chamber being provided with a liquid filling hole, the capdetachably blocking the liquid filling hole.
 2. The electronic cigaretteas claimed in claim 1, wherein a support assembly is provided below thecartridge assembly, the support assembly movably abuts against a lowerend of the cartridge assembly, the support assembly is mounted on thehousing; the support assembly is linked with the button of the buttonassembly; when the button is pushed upward, the support assembly islinked by the button to move upward; when the button is pushed downward,the support assembly is linked by the button to move downward.
 3. Theelectronic cigarette as claimed in claim 2, wherein the button has afirst positioning portion extending outwardly from a lower end thereof,the support assembly has a second positioning portion, and the firstpositioning portion is fitted on the second positioning portion.
 4. Theelectronic cigarette as claimed in claim 3, wherein the firstpositioning portion has a positioning protrusion, the second positioningportion has a positioning recess, and the positioning protrusion isfitted under the positioning recess.
 5. The electronic cigarette asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the first link portion extends outwardlyfrom one side of the button, an outer sidewall of the liquid chamber isrecessed to form the second link portion, and the first link portion isfitted in the second link portion.
 6. The electronic cigarette asclaimed in claim 5, wherein the first link portion is symmetricallyprovided with positioning buckles, the second link portion is providedwith positioning slots, and the positioning buckles are fitted in thepositioning slots.
 7. The electronic cigarette as claimed in claim 1,wherein the housing has a stroke guide groove for the button to move upand down, the button has a button main body, the button main body isfitted in the stroke guide groove, the housing has an opening formounting the button assembly, and the button assembly is installed inthe opening.
 8. The electronic cigarette as claimed in claim 2, whereinbuffer springs are symmetrically provided above the support assembly, abottom end of the liquid chamber is symmetrically provided withpositioning posts, the positioning posts are fitted on the correspondingbuffer springs; the support assembly is symmetrically provided withpositioning pillars, the bottom end of the liquid chamber issymmetrically provided with positioning holes, and the positioningpillars are fitted in the corresponding positioning holes.